


you dyed your hair blue (oh, so much déjà vu)

by lemyanka (orphan_account)



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: 100 Percent Self Indulgent, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, In a sense, Lesbian AU, Multi, Rating May Change, Slow Burn, like really self indulgent, no beta we die like men, set in the uk because i don't understand the usa, who knows at this point - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25453639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/lemyanka
Summary: University: a fresh start for those brave enough to travel far for it.Gigi Goode is one such girl. Precocious and determined to make something of herself, she begins her first semester expecting it to be much the same as high school: academically simple, but markedly lonely.She doesn’t account for her dorm mates being the people they are. She also doesn’t account for the alcohol.She definitely doesn’t account for thefeelings.( fic title is fromYour Love (Déjà Vu)by Glass Animals! )[ In the process of being rewritten! ]
Relationships: Everyone/Everyone, Gigi Goode/Crystal Methyd, Gigi Goode/Jackie Cox, Heidi N Closet/Jaida Essence Hall, Jackie Cox/Jan Sport, Jackie Cox/Nicky Doll, Jaida Essence Hall/Crystal Methyd, Nicky Doll/Crystal Methyd, Nicky Doll/Gigi Goode, Nicky Doll/Jaida Essence Hall, honestly when i say everyone x everyone i MEAN everyone x everyone
Comments: 23
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! this is my first fic in a long time and my first multichap in even longer (i haven't written proper fic in _years_ lmao), as well as my first fic in the rpdr rpf fandom !! as a note, since i’m from the uk and don’t really understand how the usa works, this is sort of based on the uk university experience? so it’s inspired by the university experience i’m having (hence why the drinking age is 18)!
> 
> this chapter was unbeta’d because i have no drag race friends lmao… it’s a lonely world out there  
> i'd really appreciate any concrit or comments, and if you want to chat more, my drag blog on tumblr is @ [lemyanka](http://lemyanka.tumblr.com/) !!
> 
> i hope you enjoy! <3

Gigi has never really been away from her mom before.

She's been out of the country without her for week-long school trips, but a five day absence is manageable for even the most codependent of children, and it wasn't as though she didn't know when they'd reunite back then - but university is another beast entirely, and with distance taken into account, it could be _months_ before she saw her mom again. She chose this university for the course quality and the scenery (and the nightlife), regardless of how far from home it is, and she doesn't _regret_ that decision - but she'd be lying if she said that it isn't a little daunting to make such a drastic change for her first foray out of the nest.

Excitement had mixed with trepidation in her gut as her mom had driven off, leaving her alone in a new world, and she'd been unable to tell which won out over the other - but Gigi isn't a child anymore. She's nineteen years old; she's more than capable enough to thrive hundreds of miles away from the safety of her mom's house.

It is, however, a little lonely here - aside from a few glimpses from afar, she's yet to spot any of her dorm mates, let alone meet them. Admittedly, she hasn't taken the initiative to search for them _herself_ \- but rearranging her room and ensuring everything was in the perfect place is a much more attractive task, in her mind, and she's content to spend nearly an hour in her own little world like that, adjusting pillows and photographs with her earphones in.

It's easy to lose track of time, but Gigi can't hide forever, and she knows that. At some point or another, she'll have to leave for food, and then she'll have to interact with her dorm mates, but by that point, they'll likely all have bonded already, and she'll be the outsider - or, at a worst case scenario, given how late her moving in slot was, they've _already_ bonded, and she's _already_ the outsider. Gigi's not so naive as to pretend that this hasn't been a pattern in her life; she's self aware enough to recognise that whether because of seeming arrogance or straight stupidity, she's never been the greatest at cultivating large circles of friends.

And she's certain the girls she's staying with for the year are lovely people, but that doesn't do much to encourage her to actually _seek them out_. No - adjusting the angles of her houseplants by minuscule amounts is far more important.

So lost in thought as she is, it wouldn't be so surprising if she let the day slip away entirely - but the music blaring through her earphones isn't loud enough to drown out the banging at her dorm room door. It's chaotic, sounding more like open-palmed slapping than actual knocking, but it goes on for so long that she knows it isn't an accident.

She pauses her music and crosses her bedroom to open her door. A vaguely familiar face stares back at her - one of the girls she's sharing a flat with this year, seen only at a distance down the corridor while she was busy moving in.

"Hiii!" the girl shouts, just a little on the loud side. She's dressed in a tracksuit, jacket zipped up, and her straight blonde hair is pulled back into a high ponytail. "You coming into the kitchen? Everyone else is already in there. We were waiting for you to join us, but then you didn't show up."

"What for?" Gigi asks, barely able to piece together the girl's words - she speaks at a million miles an hour, syllables blending into one constant stream of noise. The blonde girl looks at her like she's a little stupid, but her face is still lit by a weirdly white smile, as though Gigi's initial hesitation is nowhere near enough to put her off trying to connect with her.

"Introductions, _obviously_ ," she says, setting hands on her hips. "If we're gonna be living together for the year - and going out tonight - we'll need to know each other's names, right? I'm Jan, by the way. Nice to meet you!"

Jan holds out a manicured hand.

"Gigi," Gigi replies, taking it, and Jan brightens impossibly further. "It's nice to meet you too. You said the others were in the kitchen - ?"

"I sure did! Come on, you'll love them." Jan throws an arm around her, as though they're already best friends, and leads her down the corridor towards the kitchen. "I was the first one here, so I've already checked everyone out, and they're all really nice, you know? I think we're all gonna get on _really_ well."

Gigi hopes so. She's never been the sort of girl to have _lots_ of friends - acquaintances, sure, and she's always been surrounded by people, but real, close friends? They've eluded her except for in the smallest doses. Trust is hard to come by.

But this is a new start - a new city, a new school, new people. And university is different from high school.

(For one, everyone in university can drink, if they so choose.)

Jan kicks the kitchen door open with a flourish and steers Gigi inside. The kitchen is _big_ : immediately to the left of the door, there's a large table surrounded by chairs, and the wall behind it is entirely window; to the right of the door, there are refrigerators - and then the kitchen curves round a wall, the ovens and sinks out of view.

Sat at the table, one knew pulled up to her chest, is another blonde; her hair is shorter than Jan's, but she looks like something out of a painting, eyes sharp and a striking gunmetal blue. Her eyes are on a slightly older-looking, dark haired girl standing with her back to Gigi and Jan across the kitchen, speaking to someone out of view.

"... ladies, isn't _one in the afternoon_ a _bit_ too early to be starting on the alcohol?"

The argument - if you can call it that - doesn't _seem_ serious, but the dark haired girl who's just spoken seems mildly perturbed, brows slightly furrowed.

"It's a _mai tai,_ okay, it's not trashy," comes the protest, spoken in an easy drawl, though the owner of the voice is around the corner and behind a wall, beyond Gigi's vision.

"Ooh, can I have some? I've never had a mai tai before." That's _another_ voice, higher and softer than the second, its owner just as much a mystery as that of the voice preceding it.

Clearly unhappy with being ignored by the others, Jan claps her hands loudly, nudging Gigi forwards. "Girls! Make your cocktails later, I've got Gigi!"

At once, both the blonde girl at the table and the dark haired girl across the kitchen turn towards them. The dark haired girl adjusts her glasses and scrutinises Gigi with deep, black, indomitable eyes. Gigi succeeds in holding her gaze - just about - but fails to hold still, twisting her hair around her fingers as she's studied like some sort of interesting artefact.

Eventually, though, the girl smiles and steps closer. "Salām, Gigi," she greets, voice warm, arms half open in welcome. "My name's Jackie - it's wonderful to meet you."

"She's just saying that to be nice," quips the blonde girl at the table in a heavily accented voice. _French_ , Gigi's mind supplies, familiar with that particular brogue from Paris Fashion Week.

"I am _not_ -" Jackie starts, throwing the girl a look, but she's smiling fondly. The French girl smiles back, rising to join them. "I'm not," she insists, looking back at Gigi. "It's always nice to meet another dorm mate."

"God knows how many there even are," the French girl shoots back, before turning her attention to Gigi as well. "Nicky," she greets, "I moved from France to here specifically for university."

"Any reason why?" Gigi asks; Jan detaches herself from her and disappears round the corner, where things erupt into in distinct chatter. Nicky shrugs one shoulder delicately. Up close, she's somehow _more_ perfect than she is from afar - not a single hair is out of place, and Gigi _would_ feel jealous if she wasn't entranced.

"It just seemed like the right place to be. Plus, this is one of the best places in the world for what I am studying, so it made sense for me to travel here even if it meant being further away from my family."

"That's fair." Gigi can't argue - she's moved a long way herself, albeit not to a different country entirely. "So -"

Before she can continue, a loud, shrieking laugh cuts her off. The three peek their heads around the corner into the other half of the kitchen: Jan's sat up on one of the counters, one hand over her mouth to cover her laughter; a dark skinned girl is sat on a small stool next to her, both hands covering her eyes; and another dark skinned girl, tall and slim, is stood in one corner, a glass in her left hand and a damp paper towel in her right.

"My eyes! You got it in my eyes!" the sitting girl yells, and Gigi can't tell if the tremor in her voice is from amusement or pain.

"Well I _told_ you to shut your eyes and open your _mouth_ , Heidi, not the other way around!" The tall girl knocks Heidi's hands away and dabs at her face with the paper towel. "You should've just _drank from the cup_ like a normal person, I swear,"

"I didn't wanna ruin my lipstick," Heidi wheedles, grasping at the slim girl's wrist. "I really thought it'd work!"

"Maybe if you'd _listened_ to me - !"

"I _told_ them drinking so early was a bad idea," Jackie mutters, one hand on Gigi's shoulder. "Is Heidi alright? Heidi, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Heidi responds, "just blind. Is, uh, is the new girl here? Is this my first impression?"

"It sure is," Jackie huffs. Heidi groans. "Have you got anything to say for yourself?"

There's a moment of silence, save for Jan's muffled laughter. Then, "It's all Jaida's fault!"

"I didn't do _nothin'!_ " Jaida exclaims.

"That's a double negative," Gigi points out. Jaida _looks_ at her, brandishing her glass of mai tai.

"Don't start with me, chile, I know the law."

"Can we please not start another discussion about law and politics while I'm dyin', _please_?"

"You are not _dying_ , Heidi, you just have mai tai in your eye," Nicky interjects.

"I could be! You don't know that!"

"Hang on," Jan says. The commotion halts. "Where's Crystal?"

"Oh, she vanished, like, a minute after you went to go find Gigi." Jaida dabs at Heidi's face a few more times with the damp tissue before patting her cheek. "I told her we had to stay to meet the new girl, but she just straight up walked out on us all."

"How dare she - I said this was important!" Jan vaults off the counter with purpose, linking her arm through Jackie's and dragging her backwards. Jackie makes a weak grab at Nicky; Nicky tugs Gigi along too. "Come on, girls, let's go get her."

They exit the kitchen in a haphazard train - Jan, then Jackie, then Nicky, then Gigi, with Jaida steering a semi-blinded Heidi at the back - and meander down the corridor to a central door that Gigi presumes is Crystal's room.

"Crystaaaal!" Jan shouts, hammering on the door in the same, frenzied way she had on Gigi's mere minutes ago. "Crystal, I know you're in there!" She presses her ear to the wood - and a few moments later, she turns to the other girls, wiggles the handle -

And falls straight through into the room when it swings open, unlocked.

" _Jan!"_ Jackie exclaims, just as a voice from within the room _also_ shouts, " _JAN!"_ , and _Jan_ shouts, " _Why are you NAKED?"_

Jackie has the good sense to reach out and yank the door shut, effectively locking Jan and Crystal in together - and blocking Nicky from entering.

"Trust me," Jaida drawls from behind Gigi, "'naked' is _not_ the first impression you want of Crystal."

"It'd make _my_ first impression look a whole lot better," Heidi mutters, leaning into Jaida's side. "I might be _blind_ , but at least I got my _clothes_ on."

"And we are all better off for it," Nicky says, tone deceptively sweet, and Heidi throws her middle finger up in the French girl's general direction.

A few moments later, there's a knock from inside Crystal's room. "Okay, girls, she's not naked anymoooore!" Jan hollers, and the rest of them push their way into the bedroom.

It's very _pink_ , is Gigi's first thought as she scans the room. Posters and vibrant tapestries adorn the walls; the bed is covered in multi coloured pillows of various shapes and sizes. The desk and window sills are packed with candles and reed diffusers - the entire room smells sweet and fresh. Crystal herself, sitting in the middle of her bed next to Jan and amongst all her pillows, is somehow more colourful than her room. Her hair is a bright red, which _shouldn't_ work with the pink button-down shirt she wears, top three buttons open, but it _does_ , somehow.

She doesn't have the striking, too perfect, model-esque looks of Nicky and Jaida, but there's _something_ about her, Gigi thinks, eyes lingering for half a second on exposed skin, that's _fascinating._ She just can't place what it _is_.

"I spilled cranberry juice on myself and didn't want anyone to know," Crystal says instead of _hello_ , weirdly sheepish about it, and Gigi realises she's grinning.

"Of course you did," Nicky snorts, dropping down onto the bed beside her. "And because of this, you missed Heidi getting _mai tai'd_ by Jaida."

"Which wasn't my fault at all," Jaida continues to insist. Crystal nods, a little vacant, but she's watching Gigi.

"You're the newest girl, right? Sorry I wasn't there to say hi with everyone else. I'm Crystal." Like Jan, she holds out a hand, and Gigi takes it. Her grip is firm, but not overbearing; she shakes Gigi's hands with an endearing seriousness before releasing her, and Gigi's skin feels oddly cold in her absence.

"I know," she says dumbly. "I'm Gigi. It's nice to meet you."

"And now we're all _friends!"_ Jan sings, throwing her arms out. "This year's gonna be _amazing!"_

"I hope so," Gigi agrees, and she's finally starting to believe it.

* * *

Evening sees them all back in the kitchen; Nicky's suggestion that they order their first meal from Domino's meets no objections. It's a free for all _feast_ \- every imaginable pizza is thrown into the middle of the table.

It's one of the best meals Gigi's had in a long time, and she knows it has nothing to do with the food. She's sat with Crystal on one side and Nicky at the other, and she's learned pretty quickly that personal space isn't an issue with any of them; Crystal's leaning against her like they've known each other for months, and Jan, sat next to Nicky, keeps grabbing her arm as she speaks.

Across the table, Jaida and Jackie are deep in a conversation that Jan keeps interrupting, and Heidi's sneaking slices of chicken, bacon and avocado pizza from their plates, as though the rest of that particular pizza isn't still free for the taking on the table. Occasionally, she'll make a remark that has Nicky laughing, and then Crystal will say something that has her laughing _harder_ , and then _she'll_ say something that sets all three of them off, and it's _nice._ Familiar, as though it's been like this their entire lives.

"... okay, okay, but seriously, you guys," Jan says, fingers wrapped around Nicky's wrist and stopping her from biting into her pizza slice (the French girl looks markedly offended by this, leaning forwards comically so that she can continue to eat), "it's, what…" she checks her phone. "... half past six, right now? So I think we should probably discuss _freshers."_ There's a dramatic pause, in which she glances around the table. "What tickets did you all buy?"

"I got - I got quite a few, actually."

"Me too," Heidi says around a slice of Jaida's pizza, nodding at Jackie. "I got the icebreaker one, and the neon rave, and the wristband, I think."

There's a general murmur of agreement; Gigi hums in assent. Jan's eyes are bright with excited mischief.

"You all got the icebreaker one for tonight, right? Not the one for tomorrow?" More concurrent chatter. "Well, girls, I think I know what we're doing tonight! Icebreaker's down at the uni's own nightclub, so it's literally a ten minute walk or so from here, luckily, which means we're not in any danger of getting _lost_ on the way back… Has everyone got drinks for pres?"

"I don't," Crystal admits. "I forgot to bring anything with me!"

"Crystal!" Jan sounds _scandalised_. "We went to the _shops_ earlier and you _still_ don't have anything?"

"I _forgooot!"_

"I don't have any either," Gigi blurts, eager to back Crystal up, and she glances down at the table when Crystal turns to her gratefully. "I've… I've never actually drank before."

Jan blinks at her blankly, before breaking out into a grin of pure glee. "Oh my god, _really?"_ Gigi nods, and she claps her hands. "Oh, this is going to be _so_ good," she crows. "Alright, you two go and get something to drink after dinner, m'kay? Gigi, there's a shop like five minutes away from campus. Crystal'll show you the way."

"'Course I will!" Crystal agrees, smiling brightly. Gigi's stomach flips, and she smiles back.

* * *

"... so after I finished all my exams, I took a _gap year_ ," Crystal explains, stressing the _year_ until the sound is comically distorted and winding a lock of her hair around her index finger, "but then that _gap year_ became a _gap three and a bit years_ and now I'm twenty one and only just starting university."

"Did you work?"

"Oh, yeah, I had a few jobs, actually. I wasn't allowed to just stay at home and do nothing… it's not that I didn't _want_ to go to uni, it's just that I didn't know what I wanted to _do_ at uni for years. So I stuck around and I worked until I settled on aeronautics and astronautics!"

Gigi's brain grinds to a sudden and painful halt, as though her thought processes are rusted cogs and Crystal's degree of choice is a large, mangled spanner, in the sort of way that causes a genuine headache. "I'm sorry," she says, "you're studying _what?"_

"Yup." Crystal pops the 'p', swinging her arms.

"That sounds… how do you just _settle_ on _that?"_

"I don't know! It just seemed like a good idea, and I'd already taken pretty mathsy subjects in school, so… it seemed like the right idea."

"I - wow. I didn't take you for a STEM kid," Gigi admits, eyeing the shelves lined with alcohol. Crystal flashes her a bright smile and winks conspiratorially.

"Exactly! I don't really know what I'm gonna _do_ with it, but it _sounds_ really fun," she laughs. "I've always thought working on, like, rockets would be _really_ awesome, y'know? Makes a change from doing people's hair and makeup and working in restaurants and bowling alleys."

She hovers for a moment, before picking up a bottle of vodka. "I've got mixers back at the dorm… I probably shouldn't be drinking vodka on our first night out together, 'cause I get _really_ messy, but knowing Jan, that's _probably_ what she wants, so…"

Gigi's own inexperience returns to the forefront of her mind, and she bites the inside of her cheek, drumming her fingertips against her thigh. Then - "Fuck it, I'll go for vodka too," she says decisively. Crystal looks at her curiously, eyes warm, and Gigi's chest heats up weirdly again.

"Make sure you get a mixer you lii-iike! Coke's pretty good, but just be careful, 'cause vodka tastes like _shit_. You buy it 'cause it gets you drunk _really fast_ , not because you like it. Trust me. I'm an expert."

"I'll take your word for it." Gigi grabs a large bottle of coke and follows Crystal to the checkout, throwing her stuff into her bag when prompted and laughing when the older girl flexes.

"Every day's a gym day," she says, linking her free arm with Gigi's. "Come on, let's get back. Heidi's probably crying over her eyeliner right now, and I _know_ Nicky's ignoring her."

They make the walk back to their dorm arm in arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to comment / offer concrit or comments with suggestions for any other queens you want to see included !! season 12 is just my main thing atm i love them so much… the rest of the s12 cast (minus you-know-who) will eventually appear here, i promise <3
> 
> thank you again for reading this first chapter! chapter two: icebreaker night out will be up as soon as possible!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> University is presenting Gigi with many new experiences: her first time drinking alcohol (and subsequently drinking _way too much_ alcohol); her first time making more than two friends at any given time that _feel_ as though they’ll last; and her first time in a night club.
> 
> Or: the Icebreaker night out goes well, actually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: chap 2 will be up as soon as possible  
> also me: [doesn't update for a month]
> 
> BUT !! i hit writer's block on this one for a loong time and figured i'd work on other projects, and then literally... yesterday i started working on this again, and managed to finish it in the course of 2 days, so... go me !!
> 
> like always, this chapter was unbeta’d, and i'd really appreciate any concrit or comments!  
> if you want to chat more, my drag blog on tumblr is @ [lemyanka](http://lemyanka.tumblr.com/) !!
> 
> i hope you enjoy <33

Gigi watches Nicky pour three times the amount of vodka _she’d_ have poured into a glass, top it off with coke and place it in her hands. “This is gonna kill me,” she says.

Nicky shakes her head - “No, drink it, it’ll be fine.” - but it doesn’t _smell_ fine. It smells like bleach and ethanol, pure and undiluted, and Gigi grimaces at it, nose scrunching. “Plus, you will have to drink less glasses -”

“Fewer,” Jackie chimes in helpfully. Nicky scoffs at her.

“I’d like to see you all speak fluent French, see how far you get. But yes, _fine,_ you will have to drink _fewer_ glasses to get drunk quicker, and that can only be a good thing. There. Is that better?”

“Much.” Jackie smiles beatifically, tapping the side of her nose conspiratorially.

They’re sat around the kitchen table in the half-dark, room illuminated only by the fairy lights brought by Heidi. Crystal’s to Gigi’s left, Nicky to her right; Jackie’s next to Nicky, then Jan, then Jaida, then Heidi - and then it’s back to Crystal, who’s currently peering at Jan’s phone. The low thump of music in the background is just quiet enough for Gigi to block it out, and she’s only half paying attention to the drinking game they’re playing until Crystal speaks, reading out the words on the screen and then glancing around the table curiously.

For a few seconds, nobody makes a move; then, with a small and unsurprised huff, Gigi picks up her glass and drinks from it resolutely, ignoring the way it sears the back of her tongue and fighting the urge to cough so as not to appear weak.

All eyes land on her - seeking, uncomprehending. Gigi ignores the momentary swell of self consciousness - it’s _choice,_ she swears, not circumstance - and stares them all down, challenging them to break the silence.

Eventually, Nicky does. “Really? You’re a virgin?” She seems _startled_ by the revelation, though Gigi can’t understand why. “I’d not have pegged you as one.”

 _“Nobody’s_ pegged her, that’s the point,” Heidi mumbles into her cup - and gets nudged sharply by Jaida for her trouble. Gigi laughs around another sip of vodka and coke, moment of tension lost, and shakes her head.

“Yeah, no. Wait ‘till you see me dance, then you’ll get it.”

“Can you not dance?”

“No, not really. I’m like that one kid that claps three seconds after everyone else does ‘cause I’m so off beat. I have zero rhythm, zero flexibility, I - I can’t even touch my toes, girl, it’s so bad.”

It’s a partial fabrication - an old joke from friendships long lost - but watching her dance is, she knows, a painful experience. Nicky cocks her head, considering, then shrugs one shoulder.

“Oh. Well, if you ever get tired of being the dorm virgin, I’ll fuck you.”

There’s a choking sound from across the table, on Nicky’s other side. Jan thumps Jackie’s back with a balled-up fist, steadying her with a flattened palm to her shoulder.

 _“Nicky!”_ Jackie croaks, caught somewhere between scandalised and amused. “Oh my _God,_ you can’t just -”

“It’s a legitimate offer!” Nicky protests, voice raised in defence. “I said the same thing to you when we were in here for a week alone before anyone else moved in and -” Whatever she says next is drowned out by Heidi’s high giggling and resounding, seal-like claps, but the damage is done. Jackie stares at her, slack-jawed, as if she expected it to remain a secret.

“And I _refused,_ because we’d only met _three days ago,”_ she bites out. Pleased the attention is no longer on her, Gigi allows herself to relax, sinking into Crystal’s side comfortably. Crystal shifts a little, arm pressed down the length of Gigi’s spine, hand resting on the seat of her chair.

“You didn’t refuse when I asked you if we could make out a little bit!”

“I didn’t say _yes,_ either!”

Jan’s wearing the delighted expression of someone watching the climax of their favourite telenovela, hand still fisted against Jackie’s back.

“But you didn’t stop me!”

“I was _drunk!_ I didn’t do anything!”

“Oh, please, you were not drunk out of your _mind,_ you were a little tipsy because we’d been drinking and watching old Disney films and you absolutely kissed me back. It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Except the entire dorm?” Jackie’s wide-eyed enough to put Heidi to shame, startled and lemur-like.

Nicky pouts. “Come on, they don’t count. We can tell each other anything, right?”

“Not _this._ Not _now.”_ Jackie still looks scandalised, but there’s a fond smile tugging at her lips that belies a lack of genuine frustration. “Good to know you’re actually just an opportunistic horndog and it was nothing personal, though.”

“Hey, I’m planning on working my way through the entire dorm,” she says, and Crystal laughs quietly, drawing her attention. “Careful, or you’ll be next. And I’m being serious, so watch out.”

While they bicker and tease one another playfully, Jan’s phone is slid into Gigi’s vicinity. A little clumsy, she fumbles for a moment before successfully picking it up, squinting at its screen for a few moments. Her eyes dart up and over to Crystal, who’s still engaged in conversation with Nicky and Jackie, and then across to Jaida, who’s busy sneaking sips from Jan’s drink while Jan’s preoccupied with stealing Jackie’s.

“Okay,” she says once there’s a lull in the chatter, sitting up straight. “It says that the player to my left has to take off a piece of clothing - or finish their drink.”

Crystal looks at Gigi, stares down at her cup - full to the very brim - then shrugs, shedding her top in one quick, fluid movement.

Everyone’s eyes drop to the myriad of tattoos marking her skin; Gigi’s mouth dries, and she takes a sip of her drink, the sound of her swallow painfully loud.

“I didn’t know you spoke Arabic,” Jackie says, gesturing towards the inked scripture beneath her collarbone. Crystal laughs, high and a little hysterical, and touches it delicately with her fingertips.

 _“Well…”_ she begins, head bobbing from side to side, “I don’t, _technically,_ but I wanted a tattoo that meant something to me _and_ was a secret to almost everyone else.”

“What does it say?” Shamelessly tactile, Nicky reaches across Gigi to trace it curiously. Crystal fidgets, then relents with another laugh.

“Umm, well, it says - it says _One Direction.”_

The room lapses into total, stunned silence, save for Jan’s music in the background and Heidi’s muffled snickering. Jackie blinks. Nicky blinks. Crystal blinks back.

“No, I don’t believe you,” Nicky insists. “There’s no _way_ it actually says _One Direction.”_ She says it like it’s a challenge, defiant and disbelieving.

“I believe it,” Jan interjects, pouring more dark, sweet wine into her glass. “Out of everyone I’ve ever met, if I had to pick _one person_ to have gotten a One Direction in Arabic -”

Jaida nods. “It’d be Crystal alright.”

The phone’s passed along to Nicky, and the game continues in earnest, tasks growing stranger and more ridiculous as time passes and drinks drained and refilled until ten thirty pm rolls around and everyone is drunk enough that braving the late September night seems like a tolerable idea.

The walk to the university club is dark and cold, and the bright white of the street lights blurs in the puddles on the pavement. Alcohol makes balancing hard, and Gigi stumbles more than once as they make their precarious way down the road, but Nicky and Jackie sandwich her, arms looped through hers, and steady her so she doesn’t trip and fall. Crystal and Heidi walk behind them, their chatter insignificant background noise just above the brisk autumnal wind, Jaida brings up the rear, wrist captured by Crystal’s left hand, and Jan gallops ahead as though booze doesn’t dull her senses in the slightest.

“Come on, you guys, we’re going _clubbing!”_ Jan sings, voice piercing the muffled peace. She pirouettes on the curb, miraculously staying on her feet, and flings her arms above her head.

Over Gigi’s head, Jackie and Nicky share a look. “I thought alcohol was supposed to be a depressant,” Jackie drones in a dry, monotonous tone, prompting a snort from Nicky.

“This is the calmest I’ve seen Jan since she moved in this morning, actually,” she replies. Oblivious to their discussion, Jan continues to make her merry way down the street, shouting some indistinct, unintelligible tune.

Jackie watches her for a few moments, before dropping her shoulders with a fond - yet long suffering - sigh. “... I hate that you’re right.”

Jan is a firecracker - loud and effervescent and vibrant - with all the permanence of uncertainty. Hers is a spark that hasn’t dulled since the moment Gigi met her, only brightening when others began to slow. “‘S kind of enviable,” Gigi says, surprised by the way the syllables merge together in the early stages of slurring. “She’s been sky high since she knocked on my door, ‘n’ I feel like I’m about to keel over.”

Nicky blinks at her. “You’ll liven up in the club,” she promises resolutely. “I have never met anybody who is capable to - capable of sleeping with all the music and people and lights.”

Gigi snorts. “Oh, bitch, I’m about to be the first.”

“You better _not!_ I will smack you so hard I decapitate you if I see you sleeping, don’t even _try_ me.”

“Trust the French one to always bring it back to decapitation,” Jackie mutters, and it’s thanks to paying _some_ attention in high school history that Gigi laughs at the joke, rather than the deadpan delivery alone.

They continue walking in mostly-silence, save for Jan’s singing and the lilting cadence of Heidi’s voice behind them, and the quiet is so comfortable that Gigi doesn’t even think about any of them disturbing it until Crystal brings up One Direction again and Nicky’s set off by the mere _mention_ of them.

“I still cannot believe you have a _One Direction tattoo_ in Arabic,” she says for the thirteenth time, turning to look at Crystal over her shoulder. “What did your parents say when you got it?”

“My parents don’t know about it!” Crystal does this funny little shrug, pulling Jaida’s arm with her. “I, uh, I didn’t tell them about it, and I got it when I was out with my friends, soooo…”

“You are _so_ ridiculous.” But Nicky sounds delighted, grinning from ear to ear. “I have - I have always been curious about a tattoo, but I’ve never… got one.”

“We should get matching ones,” Crystal suggests, and even in the dim light, Gigi sees Nicky’s eyes brighten.

“That would be a bonding experience,” she agrees. They bounce ideas back and forth, Heidi chiming in occasionally, and Jackie disentangles herself from Gigi (and is replaced fairly quickly by Jaida) so she can try and bring Jan back into the fold before they lose her entirely.

\-----

University is presenting Gigi with many new experiences: her first time drinking alcohol (and subsequently drinking _way too much_ alcohol); her first time making more than two friends at any given time that _feel_ as though they’ll last; and her first time in a night club.

Inside is alive, jolted into movement by the pulsing bassline, loud and low enough to throb deep within Gigi’s bones and reset her heartbeat within her chest. Beneath them, the dance floor is crowded; people are packed together like sardines, moving together _and_ against one another, slick and shiny with sweat visible whenever the strobe lights, blinding and multicoloured, hit exposed skin.

Jan’s excitement is palpable, unabashed and ever climbing to new heights. Jaida looks at _home,_ as though she belongs here, albeit without the keyed up recklessness that Jan possesses. Jackie, thank _God,_ looks somewhat more out of place than the others, and Gigi finds herself reaching for her hand; Jackie takes it and squeezes reassuringly, looking over her shoulder at her and smiling.

It’s not that Gigi’s nervous. She’s not sure she _can_ feel nervous anymore, buzzed as she is. But she also doesn’t know what she’s doing, and she _really_ doesn’t want to get lost.

“I really can’t dance,” she re-insists, and Jackie laughs, leading her down to the dance floor and towards the bar.

“You’ll feel better with a drink in your hand,” she says in her ear, breath tickling Gigi’s neck and words a shout just to be heard over the music. “It’s one less limb to worry about when you’re dancing.”

(And honestly, the fewer limbs Gigi has to worry about having to coordinate, the better.)

Unsurprisingly, Jackie is right. Gigi finds herself towards the front of the dance floor with a bottle of WKD Blue, right underneath the DJ’s booth and across from the great speakers stacked atop one another up towards the ceiling, where the music is so loud that her senses are overwhelmed by the volume.

Crystal, Heidi and Jan have disappeared - but Jackie doesn’t seem worried by it, and Gigi’s quickly learning to base her own levels of concern for the others on the older girl’s reactions - so it’s just the four of them. She maintains her tight grip on Jackie so she isn’t dragged away by the current of bodies and watches Jaida and Nicky dance, not missing the way Nicky’s hands linger in places for too long to be considered friendly.

“Bitch, I see what you meant when you said you couldn’t dance,” Nicky yells over a particularly grimy bass drop. “Loosen up your hips, you look like a mannequin.”

Gigi would be offended if she wasn’t right. She rolls her eyes, mouthing a _fuck you_ loaded with false viciousness -

And then a pair of arms slide around her waist from behind, pulling her flush against someone’s hips, and her grip on Jackie’s hand tightens in a silent plea for help, to the point of causing the other girl’s brow to furrow in pain - but then Crystal’s voice is in her ear, loud and slightly slurred, and she relaxes, tension seeping from her body.

“What the fuck, you scared the shit out of me,” she breathes, slightly hysterical. Frayed at the edges and Gigi feels suddenly very warm. If Crystal hears her, she doesn’t reply.

“Jan’s doing shots,” Crystal shouts, chin on Gigi’s shoulder. “You guys want in?”

“Shots of what?” says Jackie, pulled closer in Gigi’s brief moment of panic. Crystal stares at her blankly - then laughs.

“I don’t know! She just said that we were doing shots, and to ask you all if you wanted to join us.”

Jackie and Gigi share a look. Jan had already been pretty far gone when they first arrived - she’d drank the most out of all of them before they’d even left their dorm. “That can’t be good,” Jackie says, barely loud enough for Gigi to hear, but nods regardless, the motion heavy with something like resignation. “Sure, we’ll come. Jaida, Nicky -” she motions for them to follow, and they snake their way across the dance floor to the bar, where Jan’s waiting for them with seven shots lined up in a row.

From there, it’s just snapshots. The rest of the night is a heady blur: the tequila shots burning the back of Gigi’s throat and leaving her chest aflame; Nicky’s wandering hands as she tries to ‘teach Gigi how to dance’; Heidi squat dancing in the street once they leave, and Jaida shakily trying to copy her; Crystal’s hand in hers on the walk home and the weight of Jackie’s hand on the small of her back; and Jan, bounding off up the streets, still operating at a million miles an hour in spite of it being four in the morning.

“That was a _night,”_ Nicky drawls as they trudge up the stairs to their dorm. The fluorescent lights are bright and fuzzy round the edges, blurry like old photos, and the ground tips and rolls beneath their feet.

Crystal nods her head, red locks bobbing. “And we get to do it all again tomorrow!”

Weirdly, despite the exhaustion and the cold and the vague nausea setting in, Gigi can’t wait.


End file.
